By Mark Harvey
Last week, I went on about all the various deductibles, co-pays, etc., associated with Medicare Parts A and B in 2019. At the end, I said: “What’s the best way to avoid undue Medicare costs? Stay healthy! (No, I’m not kidding.) And, we haven’t even touched Medicare’s preventive benefits — but we will.”
And so we will today — but first, let me lapse into being a Medicare “cheerleader” (there’s a picture that you probably didn’t need) for just a moment.
The various Medicare preventive benefits are notoriously underutilized. There are probably a lot of reasons for that, like (a) we don’t know they exist, (b) we hate to go to the doctor for anything, (c) we don’t want to hear any “bad” news, (d) we can’t tear ourselves away from the SyFy channel, or (e) we think it’s going to cost a lot.
I’ll help with (a) and (e) here in a moment, but for the others, let’s be honest for a minute: Sure, going to the doctor for anything is a hassle, and not toward the top of our “Fun Things to Do” list. But the fact is, if there’s any “bad” news to be had, it’s only going to get worse; our ignorance of the “problem” won’t make it go away. So, would we prefer a little bad news now, or (perhaps) a lot of bad news later? Right.
And if you’re thinking that not using these preventive benefits will save Medicare money — wrong! Not getting sick(er) is what will save Medicare money.
OK, now I’ll put down my pom-pons and get on with it.
If you’re a computer/internet type, go to www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services. You’ll be looking at the same stuff I’m looking at, including a pretty extensive list of preventive tests and screenings. Some of them are free, some will involve us paying our 20 percent share (remember, Medicare generally pays 80 percent of the amount it approves), and some of them are targeted to certain “high-risk” patients; but anything that helps prevent bad news from getting worse is usually a good deal.
Here are some examples. Remember, these are all covered by Medicare Part B, and we assume that your doctor/practitioner accepts Medicare assignment.
• You’re eligible for a one-time “Welcome to Medicare” visit within 12 months of enrolling in Part B. The idea is to identify trouble spots and make a plan for avoiding trouble spots (free);
• You’re eligible for an annual “Wellness Visit,” once every 12 months, as a way of checking-in, updating the “baseline” and updating the plan (free);
• Flu shots (free, once per year);
• Pneumococcal shots (free);
• Prostate cancer screenings for men over 50 (the dreaded “digital” has the 20 percent co-pay, and the PSA blood test is free, once per year);
• Mammograms (a diagnostic test has the 20 percent co-pay, while a screening is free);
• Cervical and vaginal cancer screening (free every 24 months);
• Cardiovascular disease screening (free, every five years);
• And, finally, a depression screening is free, once per year. Whether we want to admit or not, this is a big deal for a lot of us who are old enough to even care about Medicare. We’re quick to write it off to this-or-that problem/issue/crisis, or just to old age; but the fact is that depression is real, and it’s treatable, and it can cause a lot of other problems. Personally, I think I’d rather be smart than tough.
We’d tell our kids to do this, and we’d tell our friends to do this. Why wouldn’t we, then, do it ourselves? I’ve been whining for years that “aging is not an affliction, it’s an achievement!” — so why wouldn’t we make it as pleasant and palatable as possible? Why not feel as good as we can?
And why not spare the people we purport to love the questionable opportunity of “taking care of us” (and we all know how annoying that is!) if it can be avoided?
I’m almost done. Most of us won’t become pencil-thin, vegan marathon runners — and most of us will probably retain the unfortunate habit or predilection, here and there. I get it. I’m there.
But why wouldn’t we choose to feel as good as we can, so we can do as much as we can?
Mark Harvey is the director of information and assistance for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He can be reached by email at harvemb@dshs.wa.gov; by phone at 360-532-0520 in Aberdeen, 360-942-2177 in Raymond, or 360-642-3634; or through Facebook at Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information & Assistance.
